Plot

At the beginning of the episode, Comedy Chimp and his sidekick Wolf Sidekick are signing autographs in the Village Center when one of Comedy Chimp's photos is criticized as misrepresentative and is thus poorly received. Deciding to update his personal image, he has Diane Aardvark and her assistant Gunther do a photo shoot of him, with Team Sonic and some townspeople looking on. Meanwhile, Knuckles sees an abandoned empty trash can and, at a whim, puts it on his head. Diane, distracted by her interpretation of Knuckles' shenanigans, then takes pictures of him instead of Comedy Chimp. The photos of Knuckles are then seen in the local newspaper and he quickly gains popularity in the town.

Later, on the Comedy Chimp Show, it is apparent that Comedy Chimp is resentful of Knuckles' ascension to popularity, as opposed to himself, and proceeds to make some jokes that are aimed at Knuckles, though his name is not mentioned. Afterwards, he receives images from his earlier photo opportunity and is dissatisfied with the results and resolves to receive specialized cosmetic treatment. In the meantime, Dr. Eggman, who is attempting to seize a marketing opportunity, tries to make an offer to Knuckles regarding sponsorship of his Eggman Industries corporation, but the echidna declines. Instead, Knuckles ends up sponsoring Meh Burger, receiving a store discount in exchange. Time passes and Knuckles remains popular and receives VIP treatment which he shares with his friends. Then, when Comedy Chimp is about to leave to undergo his procedure, he is reluctant to allow his chosen replacement, Soar the Eagle, host his show, fearing permanent replacement. As such, he selects Knuckles to substitute for him in the hope that his ineptitude on live television will damage the echidna's reputation. At the set, Knuckles struggles to read the jokes on air but his unintentional slapstick antics end up making his debut a success. The TV network for the Comedy Chimp Show is satisfied with Knuckles' performance and decides to fire Comedy Chimp.

Once he hears the news, Comedy Chimp negotiates with Eggman at his lair on broadcasting a live robot attack sponsored by Eggman Industries in exchange for the removal of Knuckles as the host of his show. In addition, Eggman gets to sponsor the Comedy Chimp Show. Eggman in the Eggmobile and his robots attack the studio the following evening while Knuckles interviews Tommy Thunder. When Team Sonic watches this, they rush to the rescue. There, Sticks convinces Knuckles that Eggman's robots are attacking and, as Wolf Sidekick tries to tell a joke, a light falls on top of him. Knuckles assists in the defeat of the robots and reconciles with his friends regarding his recently inflated ego. Eggman then attempts to summon another robot but Knuckles places his trash can upon Eggman's head so that he cannot see. Eggman then clumsily departs, unwittingly leading his robots away. Comedy Chimp gets his show back and, due to his deal with Eggman, announces that the show is now being sponsored by Eggman Industries and proceeds to advertise its Kitty Funball, only for it to explode in his face.

Goofs

In various scenes, the size of Knuckles' trash can changes size: in one scene, it is so small that its opening only reaches just behind Knuckles' brow ridge, but in another, it is large enough for its opening to go over Knuckles' brow ridge.

Title in other languages

Language

Title

Translation

Finnish

Knuckles TV tähtenä

Knuckles the TV star

French

La guerre des talk shows

The Talk Show Wars

Hungarian

Boxer a showman

Knuckles the showman

Italian

Televisione spazzatura

Television trash

Polish

Wojny telewizyjne

TV wars

Russian

Телевойны

TV show wars

Trivia

The scene where Knuckles walks through the town is based off the famous opening scene from Saturday Night Fever.